


Under My Skin

by galactic-pirates (stillsearching47)



Series: Lachbelle Verse [1]
Category: California Solo (2012), Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-12 15:32:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9078805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillsearching47/pseuds/galactic-pirates
Summary: Written for A Monthly Rumbelling: December. When aspiring novelist Belle French rents a laborers apartment, at a peaceful picturesque Californian farm, she thinks she’s found the perfect writing retreat. She hopes for a few months free of distractions. However, what she didn’t count on was her neighbor - Lachlan MacAldonich.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Abandoned. There, now I've said it, hopefully I can stop feeling guilty for never getting round to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Misunderstanding, candlelight, cats, coffee cups.

Belle French liked to think of herself as being patient and kind, willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and just generally being a nice person. That wasn’t her bragging, it’s just sometimes she thought that being a reasonably nice person was all that she had going for her. She hadn’t seen much success in any other area of her life, and nothing seemed set to change in the near future, in fact if anything her circumstances were set to get much worse.

Growing up she had dreamed of adventure and travel, but she had put those dreams on ice to do what she was supposed to do. She had got good marks in high school, so she’d been put on the college track. That had been a big mistake from start to finish. She hadn’t known what she had wanted to study, so she had gone along with what her father had thought best. It was no wonder that she’d wound up dropping out halfway through.

Currently she was renting a small farm laborers apartment in the Californian countryside. It was supposed to be a peaceful retreat, so she could make a real attempt at writing for a living. She had scraped up enough funds to stop working for a few months so she would have the time, but nothing was going according to plan. Her books weren’t selling, the only reviews were negative, and she was seriously doubting whether she could write at all. She mostly thought her ideas weren’t half-bad, but it seemed likely her execution was lacking.

Another loud crash echoed from outside, and Belle gritted her teeth, a low growl escaping from her throat. Usually she wore headphones to block out the random noises, that distracted her, but wearing headphones all day everyday, had made her ears sore so this evening she was giving them a break. This was supposed to be a peaceful farm, it was so picturesque, she had fallen in love with the place at first sight. However, she hadn’t figured on her neighbor - Lachlan MacAldonich.

Lachlan worked on the farm, and so was out during the day, but mornings and evenings were an exercise in frustration. Belle had heard that the other day he had got picked up for driving under the influence, and she didn’t doubt it - the man was a drunk. Practically every night he either drank his way down a bottle of whiskey at home, or drove to the local bar. Then he stumbled around, making more racket than an entire football team.

She had hoped that his DUI might have sobered him up, but all it seemed to have done was ensure that he stayed at home drinking, so she had to deal with his noise all evening. Belle’s hands curled into fists at the next crash, she shot the wall that divided their apartments a disgusted look, and tried to remind herself that hate was a wasted emotion. She was only hurting herself, stewing in her own bitterness, getting more and more upset, which was making it even harder to work. If she didn’t let it bother her in the first place, if she didn’t let him get under her skin, then it wouldn’t matter but it was like a vicious spiral.

A loud thump which felt like it shook her apartment was the final straw. Belle hissed and glared at the wall, shooting to her feet she stalked to the door. Hate might be a wasted emotion, but she couldn’t help it, she hated Lachlan MacAldonich. She threw open her screen door, and clattered down the wooden steps. In the blink of an eye, she had jogged up Lachlan’s steps and with a clenched fist, was banging on his door. This had to stop before she murdered him.

She waited, her anger growing by the second. Was he ignoring her now? How dare he? Belle twisted to check that Lachlan’s truck was still there. He wasn’t supposed to be driving but she didn’t expect that would stop him. Belle banged on the door again, it shuddered with the force of the blows, but Lachlan still didn’t appear.

“Belle?” Belle spun, her heart pounding at the sudden appearance of someone behind her. It was Lachlan, a confused expression etched on his face. “Is there a problem?”

“You’re not home?” Belle half-stated in utter bewilderment.

“No,” Lachlan muttered. He ran a hand through his hair, and shifted awkwardly, clearly not sure what to say or do.

Belle’s face flushed with embarrassment. For the past half an hour she had been cursing Lachlan with every name under the sun, wishing the most painful fates would befall him, she’d even caught herself thinking the awful phrase ‘fuck off and die’ because she had been that angry. She’d felt guilty afterwards, because she really didn’t wish he would die, it was a horrible thing to think about anyone but he had been driving her mad. However, now that it appeared that it hadn’t been him making that racket at all.

As if on cue, there was another loud crash and Belle laughed at the irony. “I thought that was you,” she explained.

“Oh.” Lachlan nodded, glancing in the direction of the sound. “Not me.”

“Yeah I got that,” Belle said acerbically, before trying to tamp down her irritation.

Her anger towards him hadn’t disappeared with her embarrassment. There might have been a misunderstanding, but she was still furious and liable to snap at the slightly provocation. Irritably Belle stalked further down the set of wooden constructed apartments. That was why the noise carried so much, the walls were paper thin. On the other side of Lachlan’s apartment there was a small alley, where the rubbish bins were stored.

Belle scowled, at the sight of the bins knocked to the ground, rolling around and colliding with one another. She folded her arms and glared, glancing to her right as Lachlan moved to join her. There were several cats crawling all over the mess, ripping open the rubbish bags for the food waste contained within.

Lachlan grimaced. “That’s one hell of a mess.”

“Something for daylight,” Belle muttered.

It was also not her job, these buildings belonged to the farm and she would be calling Warren to have someone deal with it first thing in the morning. Belle snorted, and strode back towards her apartment, Warren would probably get Lachlan to take care of it. All the bins were knocked over now, so the loud crashes would hopefully cease. She might still be able to hear the metal clanging together, but there was really nothing she could do to stop that. Doing battle with a group of feral cats was not on today’s to do list.

“So Belle ... what you up to this evening?” Lachlan asked hesitantly, just catching up with her as she reached the steps to her apartment.

“Working, like always,” Belle said sharply, the guilt at her mass of unfinished projects making her stomach cramp. Her self-imposed deadlines were bearing down on her, and she felt perpetually behind. Nothing she did was ever enough.

“Oh,” Lachlan said awkwardly, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. “Well ... good night then.”

“Good night,” Belle repeated back, with very bad grace, stomping up the stairs.

She pushed open her door and swore loudly. When she’d left just a moment ago the light was on, and her computer was humming away. Now the room was dark and silent. Belle growled, murder on her mind, as she hurtled back down the steps and towards the alley. Lachlan twisted at the sight, half in his front door.

“Belle?” Lachlan called.

Belle ignored him, coming to a screeching halt at the mouth of the alley. She reached in her pocket for her phone, and flipped the flashlight on. The beam was small, but powerful, and it illuminated the back of the alley. Belle swore a litany, barely pausing for breath, seeing the metal door to the junction box that provided power to these apartments swinging open. A cat looked at her haughtily from in front of the box, it’s eyes shining evilly reflecting the light from the beam.

The cables were a mess, the cat had slashed at them with it’s claws, yanking out several and destroying others. The cats hackles were raised, it’s fur on end, and spitefully Belle hoped it had got quite a shock, though the jolt didn’t seem to have done it any harm.

“Oh that’s just great.” Belle sighed, gesturing in frustration.

Lachlan quietly came to join her, peering down the alley and pulling a face at the ruined junction box. This would require a professional, and an insurance claim, and might take days to fix. How could she work without power? All her notes, all her documents - everything, was all on her computer. This was a disaster of epic proportions. Belle chewed on her lip, out of paranoia she kept everything on an external drive and her computer was a laptop anyway. It was so old it didn’t work for very long without being plugged into power, but she could drive somewhere and set up in a coffee shop perhaps.

It wouldn’t be ideal, and she despaired at how distracting it would be, but she might be able to manage something. It would certainly be better than sitting around here, getting more and more frustrated at her inability to make any progress whatsoever. However, that didn’t help her tonight. There was nothing that could be done tonight. She slumped and sighed heavily, she couldn’t even read to pass the time because she forgot to charge her kindle last night, and as she moved around a lot she didn’t keep paperbacks anymore.

“There goes my plans for the evening,” Lachlan commented, with a slight laugh. His brow furrowed. “Are you going to be alright? Do you have candles?”

“Do you?” Belle shot back.

She gave Lachlan a look of contempt, and then mentally chided herself for it. Just because she couldn’t imagine Lachlan being prepared for anything, didn’t mean that she should take her bad mood out on him. Nothing this evening had actually been his fault, and begrudgingly she had to admit it had been kind, to ask if she was going to be alright.

“I haven’t always had the cash to put in the meter,” Lachlan admitted, shrugging lightly with slight embarrassment. “I got a little gas hob as well, if you’d like a hot drink?”

Belle huffed, it was on the tip of her tongue to refuse, but that was her pride talking. It wasn’t like she had anything better to do, and perhaps she could work into the conversation how irritating Lachlan was when he stumbled around crashing into things. She’d never confronted him about it before, despite how it infuriated her. She hadn’t thought it wise to knock and yell at him when he was drunk, and another moment hadn’t presented itself before. However, tonight for a change Lachlan seemed sober.

“Alright, thanks,” Belle accepted.

Lachlan smiled softly at her and led the way back to his apartment. He went in first and she followed, shining her phones torch beam ahead of them so he could see where he was going. Belle frowned, she had imagined a pigsty, with trip hazards all over the floor, but actually the apartment was surprisingly tidy. She took a deep breath, she had expected the stale smell of booze, sweat or other disgusting smells. However, all she could smell was a faint trace of what was probably last nights dinner, and a slight whiff of what she guessed was Lachlan’s deodorant.

He pulled a lighter and a handful of candles, already stuffed into candle holders, out of a drawer in the kitchen. Lachlan lit the first one, and Belle clicked the phones flashlight off to preserve the battery. Using the first candle Lachlan swiftly lit the others, and then moved round the living room, depositing candles carefully on clear surfaces until the room was bathed by candlelight. Belle watched him, as he bustled around the kitchen, finding the gas hob, putting on a saucepan of hot water and finding two coffee cups as promised.

“You can sit down you know?” Lachlan prompted awkwardly, gesturing towards the couch against the front wall.

Belle sighed and perched on the couch, anxiously fidgeting with her hands. She spent a lot of time sitting around doing nothing, but she was always attempting to do something, and the whole time she was cursing herself for her lack of focus. It seemed whenever she was actually unable to do something, that was when she had the drive to do things. Her mind crowded with all the tasks on her to do list, and restlessly she got to her feet and paced in a circle, before hurriedly sitting back down. Lachlan eyed her curiously from the kitchen and her face burned.

“We’ve been neighbors a while,” Lachlan noted awkwardly, as they waited for the water to boil. “Warren tells me you’re a writer?”

“What of it?” Belle said grumpily, before shaking her head at herself, she needed to stop snapping at him or leave because it wasn’t fair. “I’m sorry, deadlines you know, always stressful.”

“Sounds like you could use a night off then,” Lachlan suggested. Belle glared at him and he smiled at her. “Hey I was a musician once, you can burn out creatively you know. Everyone needs R&R.”

“A rockstar would know all about that,” Belle joked.

Lachlan’s smile disappeared, his eyes going dark like a wall had gone up. “Aye, I suppose,” he agreed neutrally.

Belle’s heart twisted painfully, knowing she had just put her foot in it but not knowing how or why. For the first time she looked at Lachlan, and didn’t see the man who irritated her by causing a racket when she was trying to sleep or concentrate. If such an innocent comment could cause him pain, suddenly his drinking took on a different complexion. He wasn’t the hellraiser she had expected, he was a man in pain, and her natural compassion went out to him.

“So what’s your book about?” Lachlan asked, staring at the saucepan, which was finally starting to produce steam.

“How about an easier question?” Belle laughed. “I’m working on more than one book right now. I’ve got so many different things in progress, it feels like nothing will ever be finished.”

“Alright, what’s the project that’s closest to being finished?” Lachlan leant on the counter, gazing thoughtfully at her and Belle blinked, scrambling to make her brain work.

“Erm,” Belle mumbled to buy time, feeling herself blush again.

She hadn’t crossed paths with Lachlan, until after she was already mad at him. Her annoyance had blinded her - up until now. This was the first time she’d looked at him, through different eyes so to speak, without the veil of anger clouding her vision. A random thought floated into her mind, this thought process would be perfect to write into one of her romance stories. In that book, the main female character had been irritated beyond belief with the love interest, then a storm had trapped them in the same cabin, and the character had realized how attracted she was to him.

Belle had worried that was unrealistic, the perspective suddenly shifting like that, but it had just happened to her. Lachlan was a very attractive man. His slight build, and short stature was perfect, as he wouldn’t dwarf her. She usually didn’t like men with long hair, but it really worked for him. His face was full of character, his smile was warm and so were his eyes, when he wasn’t upset. They truly were windows into his soul, and she burned with sudden curiosity to know more about him. How had a rockstar wound up a farmhand in the California countryside?

“I’m not sure to be honest,” Belle admitted. “My WIP folder is a mess.” She sighed. “That’s a good point, I should finish something at least to get it off the list, but when I don’t feel like working on something, it’s hard to motivate myself.”

“Ok so which project do you like the most?” Lachlan asked reasonably.

Belle’s eyes narrowed. “Why do I get the feeling you have experience with a conversation like this?”

Lachlan’s laugh was hoarse, and his expression pained before Belle saw him obviously force a smile. “My brother Jed wrote our songs, he was the same. Always had a dozen brilliant songs laying around half-finished, dumb bastard.” The water bubbled, and Lachlan poured the contents into two mugs. “Milk, sugar?”

“A splash of milk,” Belle told him.

Her keen mind zeroed in on what Lachlan had said about his brother. She hadn’t googled Lachlan before, but he had been a public figure when he was with The Cranks. Belle’s expression twisted, and she furiously dismissed that thought. Public figure or not, it felt too much like stalking. If she wanted to know Lachlan, to peel back his layers, then she would ask him and do it with his knowledge and permission. Lachlan fixed both coffees, and stepped out from behind the counter and handed Belle her mug, taking a seat at the other end of the couch.

“Tomorrow is market day, we’ll be going into LA if you want to come. It’ll probably take them a while to get the power fixed,” Lachlan offered. At her curious glance he shrugged. “There’s no point in us both driving separately to LA. Besides like I said, a day off might do you good.”

Belle chewed on her lip as she considered the offer. Her vague plans about finding a coffee shop to use their power, would work just as well whether she drove herself or not. True she wouldn’t then be in control of when they came home, but she supposed that didn’t really matter. Maybe knowing her time was limited, would help prompt her to focus and get more done.

“Ok,” Belle agreed. “What time do we leave?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic has been nominated for the TEA’s in the category Events: Monthly Rumbelling (Non-Smut)! Thank you so much to everyone that nominated it, I’m really honored. I’m also stunned, especially because it’s still very incomplete. This chapter fought me tooth and nail hence the delay, sorry about that. I hope you enjoy it! :)

When Lachlan had told her that his alarm went off at 4:20am, and they left the farm by 5am, Belle had nearly balked. She knew it was a long drive to Los Angeles, and that the farmers market opened at 7am, but she’d never really registered what that meant. Some of Lachlan’s middle of the night banging around made more sense now, and she certainly had more sympathy. Having agreed to go before she heard the time, Belle didn’t really feel like she could then refuse, especially as Lachlan did it every week.

She second guessed that decision when the alarm jolted her awake, at what really should be the middle of the night. Groaning, Belle rolled out of bed, abruptly realizing it was still dark outside, and that she didn’t even have power to make a cup of tea. She groaned again, honestly it was enough to make a grown woman cry. She staggered to the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. Fifteen minutes later, still bleary-eyed, Belle strolled over to where Lachlan was loading the truck with the help of another man.

“Morning Belle,” Lachlan greeted her wearily, looking about as awake as she felt.

Belle yawned. “Tell me we can stop for tea on the way?”

Lachlan laughed hollowly and shook his head. “It’s a two hour drive ...”

“Three,” the younger man muttered.

“Two without traffic,” Lachlan argued, clapping him on the shoulder. “Don’t mind Julian, he’s not used to the drive on a Saturday morning.”

Julian muttered something Belle didn’t catch, but from Lachlan’s resigned grimace it seemed likely it was uncomplimentary. Not that Belle could blame Julian for that. If it wasn’t for Lachlan’s DUI, then Julian would still be snoring in bed, some resentment was rather inevitable. A few minutes later and the truck was fully loaded. Belle took the window seat on the passenger side and found herself uncharitably wishing that Julian wasn’t there.

She wanted to chat with Lachlan. Their, relatively brief, conversation the previous evening had awakened a desire in her to get to know him. However, with Julian the other side, Belle wasn’t sure where to start as it would be rude to ignore the other man. Lachlan clicked the radio on and Belle yawned. The gentle sway of the truck as it turned, the low hum of the radio, Lachlan’s soft accent, and the early hour combined to make a fatal combination.

Belle woke up slowly, momentarily confused about where she was and what was happening, because she didn’t remember falling asleep. Her pillow was moving. She opened her eyes, blinking against the bright morning sun. She bolted upright. There was no pillow, just Lachlan’s shoulder. Her face burned and she glanced around, seeing that they were parked at the farmers market and that Julian was nowhere to be seen. A noise from behind, as the trucks tailgate was lowered, told her where he’d gone.

“I need to ...” Lachlan pointed to the door.

“Yeah, of course,” Belle muttered, opening the door and scrambling out of the truck. What did you say to the guy whose shoulder you’d napped on for the past couple of hours? “Is there a coffee shop nearby?”

“I don’t know. There’s a stall that sells tea and coffee, they should be just about set up by now,” Lachlan told her, as he strolled around the truck to help Julian. “Black, two sugars.”

“Three,” Julian chirped.

Belle stared at them both for a moment before shrugging. She supposed they had given her a ride to the city, and she was in desperate need of a cup of tea herself. The farmers market was surprisingly busy despite the early hour. Half the stalls were set up and some patrons were already filtering in. Thankfully the refreshment stall was open for business, Belle suspected they probably got there extra early to sell to the stalls who were setting up. There wasn’t a queue, so it didn’t take long before she was carrying the three cardboard cups back to the Robinsons Farm stall.

“Thank you,” Lachlan said automatically, accepting the cup she handed him. He sipped at it, cautious of the heat. He gave Belle a speculative glance. “You hanging around or ...?”

She hadn’t intended to stay, and there was no power for her to work here, but for some reason Belle found herself nodding anyway. Maybe Lachlan was right and she could do with a day off. The farm was idyllic, and mostly peaceful, but she missed people. Isolating herself there should have done wonders for her creativity, and maybe it would, once she’d recharged her batteries a little. An hour later Belle had just got used to the ebb and flow of the market, when Lachlan practically came to life.

“Morning Beau,” Lachlan greeted warmly.

Belle rolled her eyes. She should have known Lachlan would have had a girlfriend in LA, especially because she’d never seen him bring anyone home. She was glad that he had someone, and she could certainly understand the attraction. Now she’d actually looked at Lachlan and seen _him_ , and not just the racket he made, she was forced to admit he was exactly her type. Belle frowned, as she watched Lachlan and Beau interact.

Beau’s introduction of, her boyfriend, Paul nixed the theory that she was Lachlan’s girlfriend. However, it was plain as day that Lachlan had a crush on her and Beau was playing into that. Belle scowled, she hated it when people did that, men or women, it just wasn’t fair. Either you had feelings for someone or you didn’t, stringing them along was just cruel. Lachlan’s dejected expression when Beau walked away, made Belle’s heart swell in sympathy.

It was clear Lachlan knew he was being played, but for a few minutes he had Beau’s attention and it was like an addiction. It was bad for him but he needed it anyway. Belle screwed up her face as she contemplated the obvious. She was attracted to Lachlan, so maybe she should tell him that. The problem was she wasn’t about to play second best to anyone. She didn’t want Lachlan to turn to her purely because he couldn’t have Beau. More to the point, right now her attraction was quite shallow; half physical, half based on the mystery she’d got a glimpse of last night.

She was intrigued by Lachlan’s story, and she wanted to get to know him, but if she didn’t like what she found then her attraction would disappear like smoke on the wind. That wouldn’t be fair to either Lachlan or herself. Belle knew she could be reckless but she had long ago learned not to be cavalier with other people’s emotions. She’d start by being Lachlan’s friend. If that led to romance down the line, then that would be a different situation.

“Do you think we’ll have power when we get back?” Belle asked. “Lachlan?” she prompted, when he didn’t respond.

“What?” Lachlan turned distractedly. “Erm, no, I doubt it. It’s a Saturday, double time. Warren won’t have it fixed until sometime Monday at the earliest. Oh and it’s the parade today, you going?”

Belle looked at him blankly and shrugged. “First I’ve heard of it but sure, why not?”

*****

Despite the fact that they were heading in the opposite direction from the city, on a Saturday afternoon, it still took closer to three hours, than the two it had taken them that morning, to make the return trip home. It had been a pleasant enough drive, as much as those mind-numbing highway journeys could be, but Lachlan found himself oddly disappointed. The drive that morning had been much better, it had practically passed in the blink of an eye. That was probably because they’d barely driven a mile, that morning, before Belle’s head had lolled onto his shoulder.

It had been nice, he hadn’t been that close to a woman in a long time. Correction, he hadn’t been that close to anyone in a long time. _‘You really need to get laid Lachlan’_ the little voice in the back of his head piped up helpfully. Lachlan rolled his eyes, the chance would be a fine thing. The days of women queuing up at the stage door for his brother, and then settling for him after Jed had made his pick, were long gone. The last time he’d pulled had been a couple of years ago, it had been at the bar and they’d both been pissed and wound up shagging in the bathroom.

Julian parked the truck across the street from the bar. The area was swarming with people, the parade in full swing. Lachlan slipped his shades on, intending to head straight for the bar. He glanced at Belle, intending to ask if she wanted to come, when he saw her nose wrinkled in disgust. He tracked her gaze and saw the kids pie eating contest. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen it, but the sight always disturbed him as well.

“I know, I don’t get it either,” Lachlan said.

Belle ripped her eyes away and shuddered. “I try not to judge but that can _not_ be healthy.”

Lachlan snorted. “Waste of good pie.” He gestured in the direction of the bar. “You want a drink?”

“Sure,” Belle agreed.

The inside of the bar was particularly dark, after the bright sunshine outside. Lachlan pocketed his sunglasses and turned to Belle. “I’ll get the first round. What would you like?”

Belle chewed on her lip and Lachlan mentally groaned, his gaze was riveted to the sight. Oh how he wanted to replace her teeth with his own. The first time he’d lain eyes on Belle he’d nearly fallen over; he hadn’t been able to believe that she was his new neighbor, she was so beautiful. He’d thought about asking her out, and to hell with the consequences and potential awkwardness down the road, but up until last night he’d barely got a hello or goodbye. That seemed to now have changed, so he definitely needed to make a move.

“Oh and dinner. Were you planning on takeout, or shall I cook on the hot plate?” Lachlan offered, giving himself a mental pat on the back for a great idea.

“I don’t mind, whatever’s easiest, and I’ll have a beer,” Belle told him. She gestured to one of the tables and Lachlan nodded.

“Cool,” Lachlan said. He strolled over to the bar and Warren waggled his eyebrows at him.

“Careful, you know her lease isn’t up for several months,” Warren warned, with a smirk. “But I certainly can’t blame you man. If I wasn’t so happily married...”

“You’d still be out of luck,” Lachlan joked as he signaled the bartender. “Whiskey and a beer.” He twisted to glance at Belle, who thankfully didn’t seem to have heard the byplay. Lachlan nodded to himself, yeah he was definitely going to make his move tonight.

*****

“So then he said, MacAldonich is that Irish? And I said, excuse me I’m from Scotland.” Lachlan laughed, his eyes sparkling as he told her the story.

Belle found herself laughing, but inside she was more sad than amused. Lachlan knew how to weave a tale, and in this case the humor was definitely more in the telling than in the anecdote. Hearing about the night he’d got his DUI shouldn’t have been funny, especially not with the continuing trouble it was causing him. It was probably self-defense, using humor to deflect. Belle shook her head lightly at herself, she was analyzing Lachlan like she would a stranger. It was something she’d started to do when wanting to deepen her characterization, and now she couldn’t turn it off.

Lachlan smiled at her, holding up a coffee mug. Belle nodded and watched as for the second night in a row, Lachlan made them coffee on his hot plate. They’d spent the afternoon at the parade and had dinner from the one of the food carts. Belle had thought that she wouldn’t be able to eat anything but, once the evidence of the pie eating contest had been removed, her appetite had returned. Holding both mugs, Lachlan staggered over. He handed her one mug before collapsing on the couch next to her.

He snorted with laughter and Belle smiled weakly. It hadn’t been immediately obvious, as Lachlan appeared to be in a good mood, but he was completely drunk. She hadn’t really noticed him drinking, as it had looked like he’d been nursing just a couple of whiskeys all afternoon, but he’d obviously been getting them topped up. Lachlan seemed to be a pleasant drunk which was the only reason she was still here. Belle knew it was ridiculous but she couldn’t quite shake the nagging feeling of disappointment. She’d hoped that if he’d been having a good time, he wouldn’t have felt the need to hit the bottle.

“So here’s to us, neighbors, friends ...”

Lachlan toasted with the coffee mug and belatedly Belle realized he’d moved closer. His hand came up to trace her face, and his head moved, he was just a second away from kissing her so Belle abruptly got to her feet.

“I should go,” Belle said awkwardly.

“Why?” Lachlan asked, looking perplexed. A lazy smile crossed his face. “I thought we were having a good time.”

“You need to sleep it off,” Belle said sharply.

She winced, it wasn’t really that at all, it had been the prickly sensation under her skin when he had touched her. It had been the fact that he had been going to kiss her and while half of her welcomed it, the other half didn’t. Sure she could have some fun with Lachlan for one night, or maybe even two, but that was all it would be - fun. She’d had her share of one night stands in the past and while physically it was alright, it was never really satisfying because it was missing that emotional component.

“I’ve only had a few drinks,” Lachlan protested.

“What about Beau?” Belle challenged.

Lachlan shrugged in confusion. “She ain’t here.”

“No, but you’d like her to be,” Belle snapped. “I like you Lachlan, I really do, but I won’t be second best or a drunken fumble.” She headed for the door and paused, her hand on the handle. Lachlan was struggling to stand up when she turned. “I’ll see you tomorrow maybe? I would like us to be friends.”

“Belle,” Lachlan called out, just before she shut the door behind her.

It was a five second jog from Lachlan’s front door to hers. Belle grimaced when she saw her pitch black apartment. She groaned and put her head in her hands. She had meant every word she had just said to Lachlan but now she was safely away from him, it felt like she’d overreacted just a _little_ bit. Alright, scratch that, she’d overreacted a lot. She’d been so caught up in her own mind, about how she wanted things to go, she hadn’t really considered that Lachlan might change up the game plan. She also hadn’t actually talked to him, she was going off her own observations and assumptions.

She hadn’t even drunk her coffee. Not that she particularly liked coffee, she much preferred tea but with the power out that wasn’t possible. She’d drink her coffee black if it contained enough sugar, but she didn’t like tea without milk and of course the milk had spoiled. Belle threw up her hands, this was just like her to focus on the minutiae and not on the actual problem. She sighed, she just didn’t want anyone to get hurt - correction, _she_ didn’t want to get hurt. She wasn’t looking at being with Lachlan as just sex, which was probably how he was viewing her, and that was an insurmountable incompatibility.

Tomorrow would prove whether Lachlan was willing to be her friend, or if they would go back to being occasionally antagonistic neighbors. Belle chewed on her lip, before rolling her eyes at herself. Two days ago she had been infuriated with Lachlan, she was only looking at him differently now because she’d seen him in a new light, but it hadn’t been long enough for her to get emotionally invested. Whatever happened would happen, only time would tell.

*****

The next morning Belle was in a foul mood. She missed electricity; she missed her computer, and the internet, and all her writing files. In desperation she had pulled out pen and paper, thinking maybe she could write a few scenes longhand, but all that had achieved was littering the floor with crumpled balls of paper. She had thrown them towards the bin but not a single one had made it in. She did her revision on paper, not her first draft, and without her outline and current draft to refer to she just felt stuck.

She remembered her outline well enough to know what scenes she needed to cover, the barriers were all mental, but knowing she was blocking herself did not help the words to flow. Belle huffed in frustration, glaring daggers at the mockingly blank piece of paper. She knew feeling frustrated was counter-productive; that the more frustrated she got, the less she would be able to write. However, she didn’t control her feelings. Belle growled, she couldn’t even go and make herself a cup of tea to procrastinate.

Suddenly there was a noise outside. Belle frowned, hearing the door of a vehicle slam shut. She wandered over to her door and poked her head out, to see who it was. A small spark of hope bubbled, thinking maybe it was someone here to fix the power, even though she hadn’t heard a vehicle drive up. Belle groaned, it wasn’t an electrician - it was Lachlan. He was behind the wheel of his truck, in clear violation of his suspended license.

Belle hurried outside, she saw Lachlan twist as he noticed her and lower the trucks window. “What are you doing?” Belle demanded harshly.

“I have an appointment with my lawyer,” Lachlan explained uncomfortably, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Oh yeah, fantastic plan, _driving_ to meet your lawyer when you are _banned_ from driving,” Belle said sarcastically. She frowned, as another point occurred to her. “On a sunday?”

“Well I have to work don’t I?” Lachlan muttered defensively. “The trains don’t run out here so often on a sunday, and it’s not like there’s anyone else.”

“I’ll drive you,” Belle offered instinctively.

She blinked, surprised by her own words, as she had made that offer without thought. However, it made sense, it wasn’t like she was accomplishing anything today anyway. Plus Lachlan’s admission that he didn’t have a friend, or anyone that would help him out, just called to her. Yesterday she had decided that she wanted to be his friend, and this was what friends did. Besides, if she wanted to peel back Lachlan’s layers, there was no better opportunity than being trapped together in a car for several hours.

“It’s the neighborly thing to do.” Belle smiled.

“You’re not too busy?” Lachlan checked courteously.

Belle snorted. “Not so long as we’re without power.”

Lachlan laughed and clambered out of the truck. “In that case, thank you Belle.”

“Five minutes ok?” Belle asked, turning to head back inside.

“Sure.” Lachlan nodded, leaning against the truck.

He smiled crookedly at her and Belle felt her stomach flip-flop at the sight. Quickly she rushed inside to grab what she needed for an impromptu trip to LA. Her laptop and writing materials were still packed up, laying unused from the previous day, so it didn’t take long. Maybe she would be able to find a coffee shop while Lachlan was with his lawyer. Even on a sunday there should be places open in LA. However, as she hurried back outside to join Lachlan, it struck Belle that she wasn’t actually bothered whether she managed to grab some writing time or not. Spending time with Lachlan, was worth the effort of making the drive to LA all on it’s own.


End file.
